An autobiography of a female, immigrant CEO that is full of heart.
The Indian former CEO of PepsiCo narrates her rise to the top.
Growing up in a Hindu Brahmin household in Madras (renamed Chennai in 1996), India, Nooyi learned the importance of family, and as a self-described “tomboy,” she loved to buck tradition. Whether she was co-founding Madras’ most popular all-female rock band, living alone in Bombay while interning at the Department of Atomic Energy, or moving, unmarried, to the U.S. to pursue a degree at Yale, Nooyi’s parents always supported her. This invaluable support continued when she married her husband, Raj. After she was offered a job she couldn’t turn down, Raj agreed to move their young family from Illinois to Connecticut, a concession that most Indian men of his generation would not have made. “Raj’s selflessness,” she writes, was “all the more remarkable because he was taking on the conventions of the time in so many ways.” Although she always valued family, rising through the ranks meant making difficult choices about being a mother and a wife. Throughout the book, she reflects on these choices, sometimes with regret. Nonetheless, she is justifiably proud that her personal sacrifices led to unprecedented strides at PepsiCo, where, as CEO, she reduced water consumption and plastic usage in the manufacturing processes, spearheaded the development of healthier products, and changed many of the trucks in the company’s fleet to hybrid vehicles. As a global corporation, profit was paramount, but Nooyi was also dedicated to progressive change, particularly regarding environmental practices. “The more I thought about PepsiCo’s future,” she writes, “the more I felt it was incumbent on me to connect what was good for our business with what was good for the world.” Nooyi’s autobiography is a quick, fascinating read, laced with unusual frankness and generosity. The author is honest about her privilege and her regrets, never sugarcoating her failures or giving herself undue credit for her successes.
An autobiography of a female, immigrant CEO that is full of heart.Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-19179-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
An exquisitely original celebration of American Blackness.
A potent series of “notes” paints a multidimensional picture of Blackness in America.
Throughout the book, which mixes memoir, history, literary theory, and art, Sharpe—the chair of Black studies at York University in Toronto and author of the acclaimed book In the Wake: On Blackness and Being—writes about everything from her family history to the everyday trauma of American racism. Although most of the notes feature the author’s original writing, she also includes materials like photographs, copies of letters she received, responses to a Twitter-based crowdsourcing request, and definitions of terms collected from colleagues and friends (“preliminary entries toward a dictionary of untranslatable blackness”). These diverse pieces coalesce into a multifaceted examination of the ways in which the White gaze distorts Blackness and perpetuates racist violence. Sharpe’s critique is not limited to White individuals, however. She includes, for example, a disappointing encounter with a fellow Black female scholar as well as critical analysis of Barack Obama’s choice to sing “Amazing Grace” at the funeral of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in a hate crime at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. With distinct lyricism and a firm but tender tone, Sharpe executes every element of this book flawlessly. Most impressive is the collagelike structure, which seamlessly moves among an extraordinary variety of forms and topics. For example, a photograph of the author’s mother in a Halloween costume transitions easily into an introduction to Roland Barthes’ work Camera Lucida, which then connects just as smoothly to a memory of watching a White visitor struggle with the reality presented by the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. “Something about this encounter, something about seeing her struggle…feels appropriate to the weight of this history,” writes the author. It is a testament to Sharpe’s artistry that this incredibly complex text flows so naturally.
An exquisitely original celebration of American Blackness.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780374604486
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42592-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
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